Need help - dead Inspiron 8500

[TTO]

Hi everyone. ;)

Got a problem that I am hoping someone can help me with.

I have a Dell Inspiron 8500 laptop that I really like. It is great machine. But last June it died on me. Long story short, I thought it had been the victim of a power surge. It refuses to boot up, or even come on . All i t will do when you press the power button, is the power light will light up, and the CAPS LOCK light will blink 9 times, then both lights will go out. That's it. Period.

Or so I thought. A few months ago, a friend of mine was looking at the machine. He removed the hard drive, visually inspected it, and re-installed it. He also re-seated the memory chips. Much to my amazement, after he finished, he tried turning it on, and it powered up, as pretty as you please. It ran perfectly, until it was turned off. Then it refused to start again. And all further attempts have failed. :sad:

Another friend of mine who is an IT tech, told me that the blinking caps lock light was a beep code. But I have been unable to find anything further on this. If anyone knows where or how I can find out what this code is telling me, so that I have some idea of what is wrong with my machine, or has an idea of what the problem is, I would be most appreciative. :)

Thanks!

Dennis (TTO)

[DenisOxon]

Hi everyone. ;)

Got a problem that I am hoping someone can help me with.

I have a Dell Inspiron 8500 laptop that I really like. It is great machine. But last June it died on me. Long story short, I thought it had been the victim of a power surge. It refuses to boot up, or even come on . All i t will do when you press the power button, is the power light will light up, and the CAPS LOCK light will blink 9 times, then both lights will go out. That's it. Period.

Or so I thought. A few months ago, a friend of mine was looking at the machine. He removed the hard drive, visually inspected it, and re-installed it. He also re-seated the memory chips. Much to my amazement, after he finished, he tried turning it on, and it powered up, as pretty as you please. It ran perfectly, until it was turned off. Then it refused to start again. And all further attempts have failed. :sad:

Another friend of mine who is an IT tech, told me that the blinking caps lock light was a beep code. But I have been unable to find anything further on this. If anyone knows where or how I can find out what this code is telling me, so that I have some idea of what is wrong with my machine, or has an idea of what the problem is, I would be most appreciative. :)

Thanks!

Dennis (TTO)

Hi

It sounds like a faulty power supply to me with internal battery now flat.

You need to get a voltmeter and check voltage at end of power lead that plugs into laptop.

Best of luck

Denis

[TTO]

Hi

It sounds like a faulty power supply to me with internal battery now >flat.

You need to get a voltmeter and check voltage at end of power lead >that plugs into laptop.

Best of luck

Denis

Thanks for the reply.

The possibility of a power problem has been suggestted to me before. I have two extra batteries for this machine. I have tried turning it on in every possible combination with all three batteries. With each battery alone, with the battery and the power supply, and with just the power supply alone (no battery installed at all). The result was always the same, as described in my original post.

Just to double check, I did measure the output of the power supply with a voltmeter. The power supply is supposed to output 19.4 vdc. It measued 19.52 vdc. So the power supply appears to be fully functional. I appreciate the suggestion though. :)

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Dennis (TTO)

[DenisOxon]

Hi Dennis

Next I would remove any peripherals you can like cdrom drive, pmcia cards, usb devices, etc

Then try rebooting

If that fails take out hard disk and try rebooting.

It is possible that some connected is taking down system and stopping it booting. I have seen a usb hub stop a system booting.

If this all fails then I think you need to contact Dell.

Best wishes

Denis

[Chi Baker]

Hi everyone. ;)

Got a problem that I am hoping someone can help me with.

I have a Dell Inspiron 8500 laptop that I really like. It is great machine. But last June it died on me. Long story short, I thought it had been the victim of a power surge. It refuses to boot up, or even come on . All i t will do when you press the power button, is the power light will light up, and the CAPS LOCK light will blink 9 times, then both lights will go out. That's it. Period.

Or so I thought. A few months ago, a friend of mine was looking at the machine. He removed the hard drive, visually inspected it, and re-installed it. He also re-seated the memory chips. Much to my amazement, after he finished, he tried turning it on, and it powered up, as pretty as you please. It ran perfectly, until it was turned off. Then it refused to start again. And all further attempts have failed. :sad:

Another friend of mine who is an IT tech, told me that the blinking caps lock light was a beep code. But I have been unable to find anything further on this. If anyone knows where or how I can find out what this code is telling me, so that I have some idea of what is wrong with my machine, or has an idea of what the problem is, I would be most appreciative. :)

Thanks!

Dennis (TTO)

Dennis,

I'm having the same problem and wondered if you found a solution?

Thanks,
Chi Baker

[TTO]

Well, sort off. :| I removed the memory card from the `DIMM B' slot, and it powered right up. Re-installed the card, no power-up. Took it out again, it powered up. Go figure. Must have a problem on the motherboard. But now, the hard drive has totally failed. So I still have not gotten the machine to where I can use it. I'll be replacing the drive, and hopefully I'll be good to go after that. But what I *really* want and need help with now, is recovery of the data on the bad drive. Anyone have any ideas? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? :icon_question:

Dennis

Dennis,

I'm having the same problem and wondered if you found a solution?

Thanks,
Chi Baker

[Chi Baker]

This is going to sound amateur -- but, my hard drive went caput a month ago and my brother-in-law, who is in IT, told me to take it out and slap it a few times against my hand. He said the hard drive is made up of moving parts and that it may get it working again in order to back up data. It worked for me. I backed up data and then ordered a new hard drive. The low-key fix also worked for my dad's Dell computer.